On the afternoon of June 17, the amended Law on Investment was ratified by the National Assembly with 92.34% approval rate from attending delegates, where debt collection is prohibited - a service that have been causing many controversy and mixed opinions.
“Majority of opinions are in favor of banning debt collection services, while some suggest not to ban but to implement in compliance with the current law and renamed it as debt retrieving services. The Standing Committee of the National Assembly submitted a referendum request to the National Assembly delegates and followed the majority’s opinion in banning debt collection services in Point h, Clause 1, Article 6” said Mr. Vu Hong Thanh - Member of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee, Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee.
Meanwhile, the amended law also specifies certain sectors and business lines eligible for investment incentives including high-tech sectors, innovative start-up projects, research and develop centers, creating new materials, new energy, clean energy, IT products, software, digital content, etc.
The amended law also provides incentives for projects with investment capital of more than 3000 billion VND (US$ 128.4 million), provided that investors disburse at least 1,000 billion VND (US$ 42.8 million) within the first 3 years.
Special incentives shall be granted to projects that have disbursed at least 10 trillion VND (US$ 428 million) within three years after receiving investment license.
Regarding investment procedures under capital contribution or share acquisition, many delegates of the National Assembly considered that strong measures should be applied to ensure national security by preventing such investment channels in strategic areas.
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee believes that there should be a balance between national security and attracting investment for socio-economic development, especially in coastal and remote areas.
Therefore, the Committee proposed that investment through capital contribution or share acquisition must meet the criteria of market access and national security.
Notably, the law doesn’t require projects with investment capital of 10 trillion dong (US $ 428 million) to get approval from Prime Minister because NA delegates considered that the capital belongs to private investor(s), the government cannot make decisions about capital usage on their behalf.
The amended Investment Law will take effect from 1/1/2021.